Tad Carper thinks one simple text message from Dak Prescott may have saved his life.
As told in an uplifting feature written by Lindsey Thiry at ESPN, during training camp three years ago, Prescott invited the Cowboys senior VP of communications to a cancer screening event that had vacancies. The event was arranged by Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy for his assistant coaches, with funding from Prescott's charitable foundation.
The preseason testing resulted in one positive result from the group: Carper. His test indicated throat cancer, prompting further diagnostics. After the blood test, a scan confirmed he had a tumor in his throat, for which he underwent surgery and radiation to treat the cancer.
"I think you just saved my life," he told Prescott, when he informed him of the discovery. Prescott was the first person Carper told of the sad news, according to Thiry's reporting.
Carper told Thiry that today, his doctors believe there is little chance of the cancer returning, and he is officially in full remission. All thanks to the early detection.
"My doctors told me if it was two months later, we'd be having a much different conversation and result," Carper said to Thiry. "God's plan for me to come to Texas. God's plan for me to work for the Cowboys with Dak Prescott leading to that moment. And that's what happened."
Prescott's foundation was sparked in part by his own personal experience with cancer: He lost his mother to colon cancer in 2013.
Carper has made testing awareness his mission
Carper said he had no symptoms and felt completely healthy when the cancer was discovered.
"Getting tested when you feel fine is exactly the right time to get tested," Carper said in an interview with GRAIL, a company that develops multi-cancer early detection (MCED) testing tools.
The communications executive shared he felt it was important for him to share his story to encourage testing, and said he wrote a letter to congressional leaders to support legislation for Medicare to cover the same kind of blood testing diagnostic that helped Carper catch his throat cancer. They can identify tens of cancers and determine where in the body the cancers are located.
"To try to normalize the thinking behind getting tested and taking care of yourself… But for many people it's I don't want to get tested for things and for illness… That's something we've got to get over and beyond," Carper said during his interview with GRAIL.
According to the American Cancer Society, Medicare covers a variety of cancer screenings depending on age and circumstances, but MCED blood tests are not covered by Medicare. However, earlier this year a bill was introduced that would allow for Medicare coverage and payment for MCEDs beginning in 2028. The bill was approved by a committee with amendments in October but has yet to move through major steps in the legislative process.
The Cowboys host the Chiefs on Thanksgiving at 4:30 p.m. ET.
